Satellite1-ESPHome
Satellite1 ESPHome Firmware — Sendspin Multi-Room Audio
Stable, actively maintained ESPHome firmware for the FutureProofHomes Satellite1 voice assistant, tracking upstream ESPHome closely with ongoing hardware and power-management fixes.
What is This?
This is an actively maintained ESPHome firmware fork for the FutureProofHomes Satellite1 (Core Board + HAT) voice assistant hardware, built around Sendspin — ESPHome’s native, in-tree audio synchronization protocol — for synchronized multi-room music playback alongside full local voice assistant support.
Key Features
- ✅ Sendspin Multi-Room Audio — synchronized playback across multiple Satellite1 devices, no external sync server required
- ✅ Home Assistant Voice Assistant — full local voice control integration
- ✅ ESPHome Dashboard Support — one-click adoption, OTA updates from stable and beta channels
- ✅ Presence Detection — optional LD2410/LD2450 mmWave radar variants
- ✅ Power-Optimized DAC Management — TAS2780 and PCM5122 both power down automatically when idle
- ✅ Hardware Diagnostics — TAS2780 voltage/temperature monitoring, reworked FUSB302B USB-PD driver
Why This Fork
This project tracks upstream ESPHome releases closely (currently 2026.9.0), ships fixes for LED/timer/button logic and DAC power management as they’re found, and runs clang-tidy and pre-commit linting on every change. It’s a smaller, focused codebase maintained specifically for the Satellite1 hardware, with a release cadence built around getting fixes and upstream ESPHome improvements out quickly.
Both this fork and the official FutureProofHomes firmware target the same hardware and now both build on Sendspin — pick whichever release cadence and maintenance style fits your setup.
Quick Install
Install firmware directly from your browser (Chrome or Edge required, over USB):
→ Install Firmware Now
Available Variants:
| Variant | Best For | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | Voice assistant + music | Base firmware without radar |
| LD2410 | Room presence detection | + HLK-LD2410 presence sensor |
| LD2450 | Advanced zone tracking | + HLK-LD2450 multi-zone radar |
Sendspin Multi-Room Audio
This firmware uses Sendspin for multi-room audio synchronization:
- Native ESPHome integration — no external servers required
- Lower latency — tuned for the ESP32-S3 + XMOS audio pipeline
- Tighter Home Assistant integration — seamless media player control
- Built into ESPHome core since 2026.6.0
Additional Enhancements
Beyond multi-room audio, this fork includes:
- ESPHome Dashboard adoption — one-click setup, automatic OTA updates, and remote compile support so devices can be adopted and managed without touching a build environment
- OTA firmware updates — stable and beta release channels, so you can track fixes early or stay on a settled release
- Hardware diagnostics — TAS2780 voltage and temperature monitoring surfaced as Home Assistant entities, for spotting amplifier issues before they become audible
- Smart power management — automatic DAC shutoff for both TAS2780 and PCM5122 when idle, cutting standby power draw without any user configuration
- Reworked FUSB302B / USB-PD driver — a substantial internal rework of the USB-PD stack for more reliable power negotiation
- LED and timer fixes — corrected mute/volume LED indication and timer auto-off behavior, found and fixed through day-to-day use of the hardware
Upstreaming to ESPHome
A long-term goal of this fork is to get the Satellite1 hardware drivers merged into ESPHome core, so the broader community — not just Satellite1 owners — can use them directly without a fork:
- ✅ PCM5122 DAC — merged upstream; now used directly from ESPHome core rather than a local component
- 🚧 TAS2780 amplifier — in progress, currently pulled from a pinned upstream PR pending review and merge
As more drivers land upstream, this fork gets smaller and closer to stock ESPHome — the ideal end state is a thin config layer on top of components everyone can use.
Use Cases
Perfect for:
- 🏠 Whole-home voice control — control Home Assistant from any room
- 🎶 Multi-room music — play synchronized music across your entire home
- 🛏️ Presence-based automation — trigger actions based on room occupancy (with radar variants)
- 🔊 High-quality audio — professional DAC and amplifier for excellent sound
- 🌐 Local voice assistant — privacy-focused, works without cloud services
System Requirements
Hardware
- FutureProofHomes Satellite1 (Core Board + HAT)
- Optional: LD2410 or LD2450 radar sensor for presence detection
Software
- ESPHome 2026.9.0+
- Home Assistant with Voice Assistant configured
- Chrome or Edge browser (for the web installer)
Recommended Setup
- Multiple Satellite1 devices for multi-room audio
- Stable Wi-Fi network (2.4GHz)
- Home Assistant OS or Supervised installation
Building from Source
For developers and advanced users who want to customize the firmware:
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/remcom/Satellite1-ESPHome.git
cd Satellite1-ESPHome
# Set up the build environment
source scripts/setup_build_env.sh
# Compile firmware
esphome compile config/satellite1.yaml
# Upload to device
esphome upload config/satellite1.yaml
# View live logs
esphome logs config/satellite1.yaml
Firmware Configuration Files
| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
config/satellite1.yaml |
Standard variant (no radar) |
config/satellite1.ld2410.yaml |
LD2410 radar variant |
config/satellite1.ld2450.yaml |
LD2450 radar variant |
config/satellite1.base.yaml |
Base configuration (shared by all variants) |
config/common/*.yaml |
Modular components (voice, media, LEDs, buttons) |
Contributing
We welcome contributions!
How to Help
- 🐛 Report bugs — open an issue if something doesn’t work
- 💡 Suggest features — share ideas for improvements
- 🧪 Test and provide feedback — try the latest releases and share your experience
- 📝 Improve documentation — help others get started
Choosing the Right Firmware
- Want Sendspin with a fast-moving upstream-tracking release cadence? → you’re in the right place
- Prefer the official FutureProofHomes-supported release? → use FutureProofHomes/Satellite1-ESPHome
FAQ
Is this ready for daily use? Yes — releases are versioned and tagged (currently v1.3.0), tested against real hardware, and built with linting/CI on every change. It isn’t a one-off experiment; it’s a maintained alternative firmware.
Is this affiliated with FutureProofHomes? No. It’s an independent, community-maintained fork of their open-source firmware. Hardware design and the original firmware are FutureProofHomes’ work.
Can I switch back to the official firmware later? Yes. Both firmwares target the same hardware; you can reflash via USB or OTA at any time.
How is this different from the official firmware? Both now build on Sendspin for multi-room audio. This fork focuses on tracking upstream ESPHome releases quickly and shipping hardware/power-management fixes as they’re found, backed by CI and linting on every change.
Documentation & Resources
Project Links
- 🌐 Web Installer — remcom.github.io/Satellite1-ESPHome
- 📖 Official FPH Firmware — FutureProofHomes/Satellite1-ESPHome
- 📘 FutureProofHomes Docs — docs.futureproofhomes.net
ESPHome & Home Assistant
- 🏠 Home Assistant — home-assistant.io
- ⚡ ESPHome — esphome.io
- 🔊 Sendspin — native multi-room audio sync (part of ESPHome since 2026.6.0)
- 🎙️ Voice PE Project — home-assistant-voice-pe
Credits
This project builds upon excellent work from:
- FutureProofHomes — Satellite1 hardware design and original firmware
- Nabu Casa — Home Assistant and ESPHome development
- ESPHome Community — Sendspin protocol and media player improvements
- Contributors — everyone who has tested, reported issues, and contributed code
License
This project uses the same license as the original FutureProofHomes/Satellite1-ESPHome project.
See LICENSE for full details.
Keywords
ESPHome firmware, Satellite1, voice assistant, multi-room audio, synchronized audio, Sendspin, Home Assistant, ESP32-S3, local voice control, smart home, whole home audio, presence detection, LD2410, LD2450, TAS2780, PCM5122, FUSB302B, FutureProofHomes alternative firmware